ˈdē-lȯg daily explorations logged outside gray matter

Unlocked iPhone 3GS/4/4S pricing

Apple may be driving SmartPhone buyers to Android. Competition in the Android SmartPhone market is fierce and that drives down prices, even for the premium handsets, except maybe for the exclusive devices from Google.

So it is hard to understand why an unlocked iPhone 3GS costs $ 375 and the iPhone 4 8 GB almost $ 200 more, and just $ 100 less than the iPhone 4S. It is understandable that they don’t want to encourage sales of 4 over 4S, but then they may be driving consumers to Android. iPhone 3GS, even with iOS 5, cannot compete on price alone.

I can understand that most consumers get their SmartPhone on yearly or two-year contract periods, but for the mortals that buy their SmartPhones without contract or unlocked, Android has better pricing.